If you had this choice...

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1) 1966 j45; bridge now fixed ( modified); pretty banged up but no structural stuff at all - straight and sounds and plays great.

2) a new j45 TRue Vintage. It's new from a dealer. Also sounds and plays great.

Both pretty much the same price.

One consideration..I have a son who's a much better player than me. When I'm dead and gone in 30 years and he's my age now...which will have stood the test of time better. I like the idea of him or a grandchild playing the old mans guitar every day.

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I'd buy the new J45. Old guitars are still old guitars. How they sound and all that stuff totally depends on who is doing the listening. Unless someone famous played an old guitar, it's still an old guitar. I've got a couple of old guitars and I like them. They sound good. I'm sure they've been through a lot of human trials and errors, but they're still just old guitars. Only worth what I was willing to pay for them...... I know that others feel differently, but I just don't see the premium price they ask for a lot of vintage instruments......... Go for the new J45 and don't look back......And welcome to the forum. Which ever guitar you get, get us a video/sound file of you playing something on it. Many of us would like to hear it.

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For me we see two cases of the classic 'vintage guitar market' attitude here...... (both from aussies post)

1) It it was a 50's it would be more of a toss up

2) and if it was a 40's then it would be a no brainer and Id go for the old boy.

This is a great example of what drives the price of old guitars northbound, based on total assumptions and nothing concrete. Truth be told even if it was a 40's or a 50's job it could still be just an 'old guitar', they're not all 'special', even on the internet/youtube you can easily find many that are called 'special' and sound incredibly average if not totally un-special. Go for the guitar you like the sound of (and look of) regardless of it's maturity. Not everything old is gold.

No denying some old guitar do sound magical, we've a few people here own old pieces that sound fabulous, but an awful lot of them don't, or don't sound any better than your average 2nd hand J-45 (recent model 10-15 years) and will be trading at 35-45% of the price if not even lower.

In your case I'd go for the new TV model if I liked the sound & feel of the one you tried.

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This is based on pure personal experience PM which is the best, first hand method of evaluating.

From my experience 60's J-45's are only OK, 50's have a specific tone that is highly appealing in many ways, and 40's have a very distinct tone that at least to my ears seems to be prevalant only to that era guitars.

And in the end you can only describe your own experience, whether the OP takes it as something of a guide for him is his personal choice.

For me we see two cases of the classic 'vintage guitar market' attitude here...... (both from aussies post)

1) It it was a 50's it would be more of a toss up

2) and if it was a 40's then it would be a no brainer and Id go for the old boy.

This is a great example of what drives the price of old guitars northbound, based on total assumptions and nothing concrete.

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This is based on pure personal experience PM which is the best, first hand method of evaluating.

From my experience 60's J-45's are only OK, 50's have a specific tone that is highly appealing in many ways, and 40's have a very distinct tone that at least to my ears seems to be prevalant only to that era guitars.

And in the end you can only describe your own experience, whether the OP takes it as something of a guide for him is his personal choice.

I hear ye man, I hear ye..... the point I'm making is that generalisation of "it's its 50's good, if its 40's better" has a great baring on the market unjustifiably. Plenty of guitars from those years sound really average and some sound worse than average. Very much buyer beware territory.

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Hmmmm - I don't buy into the "just old guitar" theory. Guitars have a history and a certain feel to them Sometimes old guitars have a sound - whether it's from how the wood aged or who has played it or whatever, that new guitars lack. That being said, I don't think anyone can answer this question but you. If you were thinking about the guitar as an investment - which guitar will be more valuable in the future, then advice could be given. You want to play your guitar - so try both, and whichever one sounds better to you and feels better, is the one you should get. Your son will, I'm sure, be happy to have a guitar that you played and loved, so I wouldn't worry which would be better for him. Find the one that you love, buy it, play it, love it. And your son will be honored to have it.

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Or much like an old lady, it's just well broken in and will soon have health issues that need a bit of attention.....

Several things people don't factor in, old guitars are often quite delicate and not always suitable as roadworthy unless you have the time & money to transport them in optimal fashion, they will also cost more to repair and the repairs expense can be very significant, and rather often the vintage instrument value (antique) is considerably higher than its general value/worth as a musical instrument. They make nice enough investment pieces I suppose...

each to their own, but one very very poignant point to make is that if your skills are average that high dollar vintage guitar wont make you sound better, if your skills are top notch you can make the cheapest POS sound great. Celebrate the workman, not the tool.

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Thanks for all the advice. I've read negative comments about the 60's models but the one I played sounded great - boomy and rich - and for a strummer like me nice and playable. Never played a 50s or 40s model though so nothing to compare.

The TV was also great. Couldn't A/B them as different sellers. Anyway leaning to the TV overall.